Invisible
by MidoriPanda
Summary: There were things even her Byakugan couldn't see. Slight crossover of Bleach and Naruto, just merging the two universes. ShinoHina and Light Naruhina.


_**A/N: **Slight crossover between Naruto & Bleach, because I had this thing roaming over my mind for ages.  
_

_Many references to fillers before Shippuden, and no actual character of Bleach appears._

_ShinoHina and a small bit of NaruHina, just for fun._

* * *

**Invisible**

**By xox-Midori-Chan-xox**

**

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**Insects are attracted to light by nature. She was bright like the sun. He was despised and feared like an insect. By nature, he had no option. The insect always approaches to the light slowly, doubtfully and carefully, but it always overwhelms it. When the insect is too close to the light, nothing else but death is waiting for it. The light the insect always loved the most would kill it.

Shino had knew all that long that loving the Hyuuga girl would bring him no good. He had been a fool, but it was only a matter of time since he faced the fact he had fallen, head over heels, down to her feet.

Either way, Hinata had noticed about that or not, it didn't matter. Eventually, he'd protect his precious ray of sunshine. Even if it meant to give his life for hers…

"No, no please, Shino-kun, don't!!!" She cried, as her hands managed to do a sloppy medical jutsu.

"It's no use." He muttered as calm as always.

"Hinata." Kiba placed a hand to stop her effortless attempts to save her comrade's life, but she shoved him away. "Hinata, he's not going to…"

"Don't even dare to say it!" She screamed at him, and her eyes had started to water. "It's my fault, it's all my fault… please, don't die, Shino-kun…"

"Hinata… use your Juuken, please." He asked. That request had made Hinata stop trying to help him, and she stared at him in disbelief.

"My Juuken? W-what for?!" She said, scared.

"Strike me. It'll only make it quicker, Hinata."

"NO!"

"HINATA, DO IT!" Kiba ordered, making Hinata to jump in fear.

"I could never… not me…"

"Hinata, I'm already at the verge of death… if you were to take me in less than three minutes with either Sakura or Tsunade, I might make it, but since that request is obviously impossible, I'm afraid I have no other escape than dying. Do it, please."

"Let me save you!! I can do it, you saved me… I was a burden, again!!"

"Hinata, please… He's suffering while we talk, it's just, as ever, he doesn't want to show it. Just do it."

"No… that means… I'd have to kill you."

"Then, Kiba, do it."

"You know I can't if I do, I'll crush your body completely. Hinata, your powers would make it a painless death."

"F-fine…" She said, after an awkward silence. Hinata grabbed Shino's hand firmly and squeezed it, nervous.

"It's ok." He said softly. "I knew it'd be like this if I had to do it to defend you."

Hinata nodded, and screwed her eyes so she wouldn't look at her friend's face when she had to take his life away. Then she strikes.

"Hinata…" Kiba muttered, after kneeling besides her and hugging her, and Akamaru as well stuck to her side to give her some comfort and shield her somewhat from the pouring rain. "…just so you know, and because I know Shino would have wanted you to know at some point… he had always loved you."

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Twenty years had passed since then. The Hyuuga woman walked towards the tombstone where her friend had been resting for a long time.

"Hello, Shino-kun." She muttered, leaving a white lily in front of his grave, kneeling in front of it and praying for his well being, wherever he had gone or were now. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?" She said, sitting down. "I just wanted you to know that I've got stronger since that day. Somewhat you made me way stronger than anyone had, but I never had the chance to thank you. I wonder if you'd be proud of me now… so lucky and so strong." She smiled, wiping a tear away from her face. "Yet, I'm still very weak. I cannot help but cry every time I come here… I have no guts to tell Naruto that my feelings are still like they were when we were sixteen… I'm so silly, Shino-kun. I wonder what would you tell me."

"Oh, Hinata!" a voice said behind her back, making her to turn around. "You're here again? I haven't seen you here for a while!"

"N-Naruto-kun!" She said, a bit surprised. "Good morning!"

"Uhmm… hi. Visiting Shino again?"

Hinata nodded, standing up from her spot and walking towards the blonde.

"You're visiting Sasuke?"

"Yeah…" he said, looking towards the large row of tombstones in front of them. "Well then, I shall leave you, Hinata… just so you know, talking with the death is no good. But sometimes, they need to hear what they longed to hear when alive."

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Naruto was filling reports of his last mission on his small studio. Watching Hinata on her friend's tomb early on the morning had quite surprised him, since he had never crossed paths with her on that creepy place, and he used to go there a lot to pay Sasuke a visit and scold him about being a careless idiot.

He had never liked cemeteries at all. And nobody who feared ghosts like he did would ever like to visit places like those. But Sasuke's memories were worth leaving his worst fears aside for a while, so he went there, sometimes with Sakura, Sai and Kakashi, others by himself, just to say a little hello to the Uchiha, and to show him he was never going to be forgotten, as long as the four of them were still in there.

That doesn't kept away the fact Naruto feared ghosts like Kakashi feared to be photographed without his mask.

"I guess it's just the fact that Shino died on this day… twenty years, already? For real?" the blonde chuckled, checking a small calendar he kept on one of his drawers. "Heh, it's true… it doesn't sounds so long, counting the years Sasuke has been gone."

He placed the calendar inside again, and arranged his papers, leaving them over the table, ready to be delivered the next day. He took a cup of water he had left on his bed table and walked towards the window. It was already past midnight, he noticed after watching the large clock on his wall. Naruto opened the window to let some air inside the room, since it smelled like old ramen, moisture and sake. He breathed the cold and soft air that hit his face and shook the leaves on the tree that had been growing in front of his house since a while ago, and then he sighed. Things have been so much more calmer since both Sasuke and the leader of Akatsuki had been killed, but he couldn't help but feel something was missing. Probably it was an old pervert running, being chased by either Tsunade or some young women out there.

"_My right hand is the stone that bridges worlds. My left hand is the blade that binds reality. The black-haired shepherd is hung from a chair. Stratus clouds come, and I strike down the ibis…_" A voice that came from nowhere spoke… Naruto had heard that voice before, but not recently. Either way, he recognized it immediately.

A large crack could be seen on the sky, and Naruto watched it in horror, how it opened itself and let a figure, human-sized, to come out of it, and then it closed immediately. The figure came along with a large butterfly following him. The butterfly batted it's wings as it placed itself on the top of the stranger's finger, and when it did so, it seemed like some bells were ringing.

The figure took out something from its pocket, what seemed to be a cell phone.

"It was a hard mission." He said, calmly. "Yes, success… yes... the other guard didn't make it back?" the voice of the man showed a little bit of concern and worry. "That possibly means there's another Hollow here. I'll go and check, after that I'll continue with my normal duties… fine, ok, bye."

He hung the phone and the man walked down. Naruto was too stunned to grasp what the hell was happening, since the mysterious person had been _floating_ on the air since he appeared.

The man walked down, and it sat on one of the branches of the tree, right in front of Naruto. It seemed this guy had noted his presence, but it simply ignored him.

"Stupid woman, she hasn't let me any sleep in three weeks already…" He muttered to himself.

Naruto observed this guy, completely intrigued about his appearance.

The man was not from there, that had already been stated. But even if he hadn't said a word, his clothes would have told him off. He was wearing a black kosode and hakama, and a pair of Waraji with white Tabi to shield his feet. He had a large Katana sheathed on a green scabbard, which was the same emerald color of the hilt.

He was wearing some kind of badge on his left arm, which had the kanji of a Japanese five, as well as a flower emblem on it. Over his kosode he was wearing a large, green scarf that covered half of his face, and he had dark, spiky brown hair. Naruto could not see the face of this person since he was facing to the other side, but this guy had a strange resemblance to a person who had died, exactly, 20 years ago.

"It can't be…" Naruto muttered. "He's death… is it… a ghost?!" He was completely scared, so he was too shocked to move.

"Uh?" The stranger muttered, turning around to reveal a precise copy of Shino, sunglasses included.

"OH, MY GOD!!! A GHOST!! OH FUCK NO!! DON'T HURT ME!!!" Naruto said, backing away from the dark haired man.

"You.. you can see me, Naruto?"

"OF COURSE I CAN SEE YOU, IDIOT!!!!"

"How can…? how?" The other was speechless as well, not to say shocked, but it seemed he was more ready to fight than Naruto, since he had instinctively grabbed the hilt of his sword.

"I don't know!!! HOW IS IT YOU'RE HERE, ANYWAY??!! YOU'VE BEEN DEAD FOR 20 YEARS!!!"

"Already that much…"

"HOW CAN I KNOW YOU'RE THE REAL ONE AND NOT JUST AN IMAGINATION?!"

"Could you stop screaming? It's making my head hurt…"

"That's something Shino would say! But how can I know you're not an imposer?!"

The man sighed.

"My name is Aburame Shino, former leader of the Aburame Clan, teammate of Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru under Yuhi Kurenai's teaching. I made chuunin range when I turned fourteen, and jounin at the age of 17. I was the only genin at the time who didn't fight any Sound ninja to help to retrieve Sasuke, and I almost killed Kiba and Neji because of that…And as a side note, you got wasted at Kiba's promotion party and kissed Lee accidentally… do you still doubt it's me, Naruto?"

"Oh, so it's you… THAT MEANS YOU'RE SHINO'S GHOST!!!"

"Ghost, is a very offensive term."

"So what are you?"

"I'd say, Shinigami."

"Shinigami? Like, 'god of death' Shinigami?"

"Do you know any other term for the word Shinigami, idiot?"

"You've changed a lot…" Naruto muttered.

"Well, I blame my captain of that…"

"Captain?"

"Oh, sure… you don't get it. I work for a kind of association called Gotei 13, as the lieutenant of the 5th division." He pointed at the badge on his left arm, and sighed. "The function of this Gotei 13 thing is to keep the balance between living and deceased souls on the world, as well as leading the deceased ones to Soul Society, and purifying the bad ones, called Hollows." Shino explained, but Naruto had no freaking idea of what he had just said… he was talking to a ghost, there was no wonder why his normally stuck brain was stiff. "So, I was sent to Konoha to protect it from this Hollow things and to send spirits there."

"You seem much more talkative now…"

"I tell you, it's because of my captain."

"S-so… that's what you've been doing all these years? Working as a Shinigami?"

"No. Just the past 10. I had to do 6 years of Academy, and the other four I had to spend my time thinking of how much I wasted my time while I was alive."

"Hey! Does that mean you're not the only one there?"

"Haven't you heard anything I've just said? Normally a 'Society' has to be conformed by several people, not just me."

"No, idiot! What I meant was… have you seen Ero-sennin? Or Sasuke, or…"

"No. From our people, the only one I was able to see while I was not part of the Gotei was Asuma-sensei, just for a while." Shino sighed, shaking his head. "Anyway, I'm sure Jiraiya-sama made it there, though he's not a Shinigami. But I can't tell about Sasuke. There's either the probability he went to the Hollow World, Hueco Mundo, or he went to Hell."

"Is that possible?"

"Well… I can't say Soul Society is Heaven, but Hell does exists. Not that I've been there, I've just seen several souls being dragged there."

"Oh…"

Shino took out the cellular again, and opened it.

"Yes, there's a Hollow here."

"A bad soul, you mean?"

"Yeah." Shino clicked several buttons, and then he sighed. "An Arrancar."

"Arrancar?"

"Oh… well, Hollows evolve. When they remove their masks… you know, you shouldn't be listening to all of this, I don't know why I'm explaining this to you. Just wait till you die, and you'll get it all."

Shino said, closing the cell phone and unsheathing his sword.

"W-why do y-you unsheathe that thing for?!"

"This _thing_ is A Zanpakuto. A Soul Slayer. It purifies the hollows and sends the pluses to Soul Society." He explained, a bit irritated by the way Naruto had described his Katana. "And just so you know, this _thing_ is a part of my soul, so I beg you don't insult it, Naruto."

Shino jumped down of the tree and checked the cell phone again.

"Hey!!! Where are you going?!" Naruto screamed, jumping from the window to the tree, and then to stand beside the Shinigami.

"To kill that Hollow, unless you want it to eat somebody's soul."

"I'll go with you!"

"Have you grown more stupid? This is nothing you can deal with."

"Of course I can!"

"Naruto, Hollows are way different than humans or monsters. You can't kill them with jutsu or any Ninja crap. Asides from that, I highly doubt you can keep up if you try to follow me."

"Hah, now you're bragging!"

"No, I'm not."

"I know your speed was good, Shino, but come on, I am as good as…"

"You'll never be as good as me if you're scared of an ally. Fear your powers, not me."

"I'm not scared of you! You're a friend!"

"A _deceased_ friend, Naruto."

The blonde felt like if the ground beneath his feet had suddenly started to move like crazy. That was right… he had been talking with a guy who had been killed… twenty years ago!!!

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The Lily of the Valley. A beautiful flower, with a dark meaning: Sacrifice, Danger, Pure Love, Humility, and Sweetness… what a sweet irony, Shino thought, as he saw his lieutenant badge being ripped away from his arm, as the Arrancar attacked him, drawing out some blood from the wound.

Shino hissed, pressing his fingers against the scratch to stop the bleeding. He picked up his insignia and tied it around his arm as quick as he could.

"RASENGAN!!!" Naruto screamed, but when he charged and tried to tackle the Hollow it trespassed him.

"Just as I thought… you has enough Reiatsu to watch us, but not to touch us…" Shino muttered, picking up the blonde, and pushing him aside. "Just stay there, I'll save her!"

"Save her?! This woman's soul looks incredibly delicious!" The Arrancar roared, embracing the unconscious body of the girl with one arm. "Just after I kill you, Shinigami, I'm gonna eat her, and then that stupid friend of yours, who seems to be a strong enough to see us." The Arrancar laughed as he crossed his sword against Shino's. "I can't believe the Gotei still gives a lieutenant badges to weaklings like you!!! Burn! Bestia!!!"

His whole complex had changed, from being a small and thin Hollow, it grew muscles out of nowhere. His brown hair had formed a mane around both his head and neck, and fur had started to grow from its arms and legs. His fangs had grown considerably, and he had also grown a tail. Over his head his mask was still visible, resembling a wolf or a hyena, Shino didn't know. Also, his spine was visible, and it reached till the very end of its tail.

"This is my Resurreción, Bestia." He roared, still grabbing the girl's body with one hand, that now was more than enough to grab her completely. "Now that you've seen it, Shinigami, your life is over!!"

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Arrancar…" Shino hissed, completely pissed. "But that woman there was once my comrade, when I was alive. She's my friend. I'm not letting you hurt her."

"Ooohhh…. Is that so, Shinigami? So this is your dearly beloved?! One more reason to eat her!!" He screamed, grabbing Hinata's body with its tail and lifting her on the air.

"Dearly Beloved? Well, there's no other way around, so I'd say she is…" Shino muttered worried, tightening the grip on his sword. "Sajo Sabaku!" He screamed, pointing at the Arrancar. A golden flash surrounded the Arrancar, who didn't know what happened. Shino closed his fist, and the golden flash took the shape of golden chains, which surrounded the enemy, making it unable to move.

"You shouldn't be able to move with this…" After saying this, Shino lifted his sword and attempted to attack the Hollow, but it broke the chains with a little bit of trouble. "H-how?!"

"You seriously think that'd work?!" He was raging, and it opened its mouth wide, as a large, orange beam was charged on its tongue. "CERO!"

Shino opened his eyes wide behind the shades, jumping just on time to dodge the assassin flash.

"This is gonna be tough… I guess I have no option." He held the sword in front of him in and horizontal position, and then he said calmly "Infest, Kikaichu"

It had been really ironic that his sword had the same name as his former ninja powers, and asides from that, they seemed to share the same ability. The sword started to disperse, forming a large hive that was just like the one he had hosted, formed by small, little but deathly beetles. "Give up… or you'll never be able to fight ever again…"

"Hah, like a small hive of beetles can actually damage a beast!!!"

"You think so?" He flung an arm on the air, horizontally, giving the Kikai an order, and they launched themselves against the enemy. "The hive grows as time passes." He said coldly. "Each second it doubles it number. Not only that, but their wings are like normal blades. Just a scratch like the one you did to my arm some minutes ago…" he moved his arm again, and a loud noise of something hitting the ground sounded. "And I can tear you to pieces if I want to." The insects destroyed the tail of the beast to release Hinata's unconscious body, and Naruto ran to catch her as the Kikai flew to attack the enemy's white mask.

After some seconds, the Kikai slashed his mask, shattering it, and making the Arrancar to vanish.

"I told you he was out of your league, Naruto."

"I had to try… is she fine?"

Shino leaned closer to her, and placed a hand on her collarbone.

"Yeah, her life chain is unharmed."

"Dearly Beloved, uh?"

"Yeah." Shino admitted, removing some blue locks of hair from her face. "Then again… she loved you."

"I know. She told me."

"Anyway." Shino said, sheathing his sword and sighing. "She still does. I'm going back to Soul Society."

"Aren't you in charge of this village?"

"Yes, I am. That was until I found out you can see me, and, as well, I saw her again. If I keep searching for her, I might was well be able to get rid of my powers."

"You can do that?"

"Yes, but there would be no use. Because these powers, I decided to use them for the sake of protecting her. If I gave up on them, it'd be like giving up on her."

"Heh… after all, you might have changed, but you're still the old Shino beneath the Shinigami robes."

Shino chuckled, unsheathing his sword again and stabbing the air, which to Naruto's surprise, made appear a slicing door.

"I shall leave now." The door opened, and a black butterfly flew and stepped on Shino's shoulder. "Take care of her, Naruto."

"She doesn't need me to protect her, Shino; she's become stronger." Naruto smiled wide, quoting what Shino had told him once about the same woman. "Far stronger than you think."

"…thank you."

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"You're awake?" Naruto asked cheerfully, giving her a cup of tea.

"N-Naruto-kun?" She asked, sleepily. "Where am I?"

"My home. You fainted, and I brought you here, I hope you don't mind."

"I swear he was here…" She muttered.

"Who?"

"Shino." She opened one of her hands, to show Naruto a metallic silver Kikai on her hand. Naruto opened his eyes wide, smiling. Had he done that on purpose, or something?

"He was here."

"You saw him?"

"Yes. He was defending you from a monster."

"So it was not just a nightmare, wasn't it? I was dreaming of a beast and a swordsmith."

"He keeps protecting you, after all."

"Will he come back? I have lots of things to tell him."

"No, he's not. He wants to stay away from you. Until you're to meet again. By natural means, that's it."

"I was dreaming. But I couldn't see anything, I just heard, and watched some blurry figures… does it also happen to you, Naruto-kun?"

"No, I can see and hear him perfectly." Naruto smiled. "But I can't touch him." He pointed at the Kikai on her hand. "That's a piece of his soul, so take care of it, Hinata. And make sure to give it back to him if you're to see each other again."

"May I ask you something, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, that last phrase Kiba had told her twenty years ago roaming inside her mind.

"Go ahead."

"Did he said anything about me?"

Naruto smiled.

"He said… she's strong. Far stronger than you think."


End file.
